(CBS) Halo 2

Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios – Rated: Mature

If you’re an Xbox owner, chances are you’ve already got this game. But in case you don’t, we’re including it on the list. Picking up where the uber-successful Halo left off, Halo 2 throws you headfirst into the action and doesn’t quit until the credits role. You are the super-soldier Master Chief, you and only you can save the human race from extinction at the hands of the evil alien Covenant. They want all of us humans to be real dead and they’re not too happy with you either since you stopped them in the previous game. Halo 2 has the most intensely beautiful graphics ever to grace a console system, an engrossing story and an unrivaled multiplayer component over Xbox Live that alone is worth the price of admission. To quote Jason Jones, the project lead at Bungie, "Halo 2 is a lot like Halo 1, only it's Halo 1 on fire, going 130 miles per hour through a hospital zone, being chased by helicopters and ninjas ... And, the ninjas are all on fire, too." Halo 2 is a peerless game.


X-Men Legends

Publisher: Activision – Rated: Teen

Hands down, one of the best comics-based video games ever made. Period. Think Gauntlet, then paste it in RPG style leveling and powering up juices and mix in 30 years of X-Men history. Legends provides an expansive world, awesome multiplayer and great graphics. Want to be rough and grumble Wolverine? Super telepath Charles Xavier? Ragin’ Cajuns Gambit or Rogue? You can. Plus, Patrick Stewart lends his voice to the cast of characters. How cool is that? You can be all of the greats from the franchise and do battle with the memorable enemies that have plagued and hunted the X-Men in their decades-long existence. Snikt!


Dead Or Alive: Ultimate

Publisher: Tecmo Inc – Rated: Mature

Take your fighting game to the next level, and then take it Online with Xbox Live. Tecmo's development group, Team Ninja, created the ultimate Dead or Alive fighting experience by coupling the original Saturn version of Dead or Alive with a completely redesigned Dead or Alive 2. Seamless animation, gorgeous backdrops, interactive environments and frantic fighting make this an instant classic.


Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords

Publisher: Lucasarts – Rated: Teen

It’s Star Wars. You can use a lightsaber. You get to be a Jedi. That should be enough.

This is a rare game that uses the player’s ethics to determine whether you go to the light or the dark side and bring your companions with you. If you go bad, they go bad too. You control an open story where you live out the different consequences of your actions. KOTR2 takes place five years after the events of the original award-winning Knights Of The Old Republic. It features a new storyline, new characters, classes, locations and force powers. There have also been improvements to the core game and engine with environment affects such as rain and lightening plus larger, more immersive levels. Go forth, young Padawan, rock out.


Prince of Persia: Warrior Within

Publisher: Ubisoft - Rated: Mature

The original Prince of Persia: Sands of Time was a sleeper hit for PlayStation 2. It introduced a concept that many gamers truthfully wished they had in these types of third person action-adventure games: time manipulation. Warrior Within is engulfed in a much darker theme, an adult Prince who is a mere shadow of his bright youthful self. Our Prince has aged some and, because of his actions in the original, is being hunted by the Dahaka, a massive dark warrior whose only mission is to rid the world of our not-so-loveable hero. In Prince Of Persia, the main character’s actions focused on saving the world. However, in this game, the adult Prince is only out to save himself from the horrors he released and he will stop at nothing to be freed from it. The graphics, moves, combat system, NPC’s, environments, and story arch are breathtaking to say the least.

Top 5 Playstation 2 Picks

Top 5 GameCube Picks

Top 5 PC Picks

Video Game Holiday Buying Guide